What are the health benefits of Brazil nuts?

Answer 1

Brazil nuts aren't nuts. They are three-sided, hard-shelled edible seeds contained in a capsule or pod of the tree Bertholletiaexcelsa and related species, of South America. Brazil nuts mostly come from Bolivia (in Brazil, they are called castanhas, or chestnuts). They grow at the very top of enormously tall trees, in round wooden capsules packed with between 8 and 24 seeds. When the pods fall, they split apart and the seeds are released.

Answer 2

Brazil nuts are high in calories (100 grams provide about 656 calories) and contain good quantities of vitamins, anti-oxidants, and minerals. Their high caloric content comes from their fats; however, they are an excellent source of mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) like palmitoleic acid (16:1) and oleic acid (18:1) that helps to lower LDL or "bad cholesterol" and increases HDL or "good cholesterol" in the blood. The nuts are also a very good source of vitamin E: they contain about 7.87 mg per 100 g (about 52% of RDA). Brazil nuts are the best natural source of selenium (100 grams of nuts provide about 1917 µg of selenium and 3485% of recommended daily intake). Just 1-2 nuts a day provides enough of this trace element. Brazil nuts are also an excellent source of B vitamins such as thiamine (51% of RDA per 100 g), riboflavin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and folate, which work as co-factors for enzymes during metabolism. They contain very good levels of minerals such as copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. Copper helps prevent anemia and osteoporosis. Manganese is a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.

Because Brazil nuts have a high concentration of phytic acid, they might interfere with the absorption of some nutrients like iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. While their monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may be beneficial in lowering cholesterol when ingested in small quantities, their high level of saturated fat (25%) could possibly raise cholesterol levels if the nuts are consumed in large quantities. In addition, overdosing on selenium can cause a toxic condition known as selenosis, which causes hair loss, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, sloughing of the fingernails, fatigue, irritability, and nerve damage, and less commonly, cirrhosis of the liver and kidney failure. While a handful per day of most nuts is beneficial in raising antioxidant levels and effective in lowering total and LDL cholesterol levels, make sure that just one or two of the nuts in that handful are Brazil nuts. A whole handful of the nuts could easily raise blood selenium to unhealthy levels.